My 2018 Financial Goal Assessment

My life has been changing at a rapid pace lately, I feel like it’s been hard to keep up. So far:

I’m married! More than a year has passed and I’ve yet to get all my updated government IDs. It’s been a huge challenge to get these government IDs, by the way. I could go on and on about the annoying changes in requirements, unhelpful information desks and unexpected waiting times. That’s the Philippine government for the average Filipina, I guess.

I’m pregnant! It’s been 25 weeks already, and my mind had been focused mostly on pregnancy-related tasks, such as maternity benefit requirements, food I want to eat in the next hour, OB-GYNE appointments, lab tests and sleep.

So now I need to go and update my current portfolio to include the upcoming baby in my financial plan. I like thinking ahead, after all.

Let’s get started!

Being single was easy, especially back when I was just dating my husband, who was pretty good at managing his income himself. But now, since my husband is his family’s breadwinner and I can’t take that away from the Uys even if I wanted to, I need to essentially man up and act like a single mom temporarily until everything gets sorted out. Where should one start when reassessing someone’s financial situation?

1. Check current status I’ve taken a look at my current basket of eggs and it’s looking fair–not that great for someone at my age, but pretty average for a writer. I keep my stress levels pretty low, with occasional healthy eating, mindfulness exercises and daily walking sessions. I think I’m doing good for a 31-year-old! At this rate my life expectancy is 87, which I will reach in 2074. That’s a pretty daunting year, considering the current economic issues plaguing the Philippines and neighboring countries. I’m crossing my fingers that things won’t get worse!

2. Change asset allocation As soon as I get my bank records updated, I’m changing my current asset allocation in favor of higher risk, higher return products. Ideally, younger people (those in their 20s) should be more aggressive with investments because higher risk products tend to get better with time, and younger people more often than not have time on their side. In my case, though, I’ve been more of a conservative in my younger years. I strongly feel that it’s time to take more risk, even if just for the next three to five years.

Consider PERA funds, because I don’t want to miss out on the 5% tax credit.

Consider cryptocurrency.

Consider a new bank account in August.

3. Rethink insurance. With a dependent on the way, I need to start getting my life insured. Or at least get a death plan ready. While cremation costs can reach an affordable Php100,000 at most, my small family will need about 10 times that amount to get them going for the next six to ten years. I’m leaning towards term life insurance good for the next 20 years (or until my dependent becomes independent) since it’s cheaper and satisfies my needs.

That’s all for now. Hopefully I stick to this plan this time!

How about you guys? Have you seriously thought about saving for your future? Do you get antsy like I do whenever you think about your situation ten to 20 years from now?

Ethel Merioles would like to learn Mandarin, Italian and French someday, mostly because she dreams of ordering her favorite dishes straight from the source one day.
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